A true conservative, a Christian, and a Tennessean, I hope to contribute my two-cents on politics, policy issues, life, and sports.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Bryson Bill Would Limit Government Growth

Some in the Blogosphere, including Bob Krumm, are abuzz over State Senator Jim Bryson's bill that would tie government growth to Tennessee's overall economy and population growth. Bob acknowledges the problem in a fantastic line:

"Vampires have their stakes and werewolves have their silver bullets, but there is nothing man has yet devised that can kill a government program."I agree, but isn't it a sad day when we get excited about limiting growth? What about real government cuts, not cuts in spending? State Senator Jamie Woodson and I spoke of this recently, how it has grown to be par for the course to speak of "cuts" when what we are really talking about is limited growth. The only thing that is being cut is the rate of increase, not a decrease like most of the public would associate with a "budget cut." We need true budget cuts - not this phony-baloney masquerade that only cuts increased spending - in order to control government spending.

I don't wish to belittle Senator Bryson's efforts, though, as he does face opposition to even this modest proposal. In fact, you would think that Democratic Party Chairman Bob Tuke was going to have to foot the bill himself, with all of the howling he is doing. Lots has been made about the fake conservatives in D.C. who won't stand up to expanding government, but, when it comes time to place your vote in the ballot box, you need to put that in perspective because the Democrats are even worse.